The Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and University of Alaska Fairbanks’ School of Natural Resources and Extension are creating a radon database and public visualization tools to better understand radon potential and identify where elevated levels of radon exist in the State of Alaska.

Indoor exposure to radon gas causes more than 20,000 deaths annually in the United States and it is the number-one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Because people can’t see or smell radon, it’s easy to forget that radon can be a problem in homes, schools, and other buildings.

Radon is a decay product of uranium, which naturally occurs in rocks and sediments throughout Alaska. The Environmental Protection Agency’s regional radon zone map highlights much of the Interior, the Matanuska-Susitna region, and Anchorage as having elevated radon potential. Recent testing has shown that many households in Alaska have indoor radon concentrations above the EPA’s action level.

Don’t let time run out! Medicare open enrollment for 2018 coverage ends December 7, 2017. Even if you are happy with your current drug coverage, it’s still worthwhile to review your options because monthly premiums and covered prescriptions for a plan can change each year. Choosing a prescription plan can be confusing, but we are here to help. Britney Travis, from the Medicare Information Office, will be at the Big Lake Public Library on Tuesday, November 21, from 10 AM to 3 PM, and on Monday, November 27, from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM, to help you enroll. Please call 907-373-3632 for a time slot.

During 2014–15, a psychologist from Stanford University called Kari Leibowitz spent ten months in Tromsø trying to figure out how people cope during the cold, dark winters. Together with Vittersø, she devised a ‘winter mindset questionnaire’ to assess people’s attitudes to winter in Tromsø, Svalbard and the Oslo area. The farther north they went, the more positive people’s mindsets towards winter were, she tells me. “In the south, people didn’t like winter nearly as much. But across the board, liking winter was associated with greater life satisfaction and being willing to undertake challenges that lead to greater personal growth.”

It sounds dismissively simple, but adopting a more positive attitude really might help to ward off the winter blues. Kelly Rohan recently published a clinical trial comparing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to light therapy in the treatment of SAD, and found them comparable during the first year of treatment. CBT involves learning to identify patterns and errors in one’s way of thinking and challenging them. In the case of SAD, that could be rephrasing thoughts such as ‘I hate winter’ to ‘I prefer summer to winter’, or ‘I can’t do anything in winter’ to ‘It’s harder for me to do things in winter, but if I plan and put in effort I can’.

It also involves finding activities that a person is willing to do in winter, to pull them out of hibernation mode. “I don’t argue that there isn’t a strong physiological component to seasonal depression, which is tied to the light–dark cycle,” says Rohan. “But I do argue that the person has some control over how they respond to and cope with that. You can change your thinking and behaviour to feel a bit better at this time of year.” Article: http://digg.com/2017/does-darkness-make-you-sad

We can be traumatized by news of a major tragic event, whether it’s a crime or a natural disaster, even if it’s far away.

It is important to understand that we can be impacted even if we don’t have a direct connection to the event. We can and should take steps to purposefully take care of ourselves and those we care about to reduce the harmful impact of trauma and use it as motivation to build our personal resilience and strengthen our communities.

It’s common to feel:

Shocked

Saddened

Angry or irritable

Helpless

Depressed

Anxious

Distracted

General turmoil

People may have difficulty concentrating or sleeping, or be troubled by recurring disturbing thoughts.

Warning - A phone number that was once used for the Denali KidCare program is now being used to ask people for their credit card number in order to win a prize. The phone number related to this activity is 888-318-8890. This is not a State of Alaska government phone number. People should not call this number or give out Medicaid or credit card information.​

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in conjunction with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and other state, federal, and international agencies, continues testing of Alaska seafood for any potential impacts resulting from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Testing performed in previous years showed no detectable levels of Fukushima-related radionuclides. Testing in 2016 also confirmed the quality and health of Alaska seafood has not been impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Fish species were chosen for testing based on their importance to subsistence, sport, and commercial fisheries and because they spend part of their life cycle in the western Pacific Ocean. These species include: king (Chinook) salmon, chum (dog) salmon, sockeye (red) salmon, pink salmon (humpies), halibut, pollock, sablefish, herring, and Pacific cod. Samples of fish were taken by DEC Environmental Health Officers during regular inspections of commercial fishing processors throughout the state. The results of testing conducted on Alaska fish in 2016 showed no detection of Fukushima-related radionuclides Iodine-131 (I-131), Cesium-134 (Cs-134), and Cesium-137 (Cs-137).